cocoonofbooks 's review for:

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

4.0

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Despite the length, I quite enjoyed this read. I was glad to find that the majority of the book is not as depressing as the beginning chapters portend — once David escapes from the hard conditions of his childhood, we are treated to his introduction to and relationships with a wide variety of colorful characters whom Dickens weaves together over the course of the book. I am happy that I switched to the audio version of this, as Martin Jarvis is a vocal genius, providing distinctive voices in a wide range of accents for a cast of at least 30 recurring characters, and that really brought the story to life for me. It's certainly not the most realistic of plots, despite its basis in Dickens' own life — the characters tend to be relatively unchanging and the plot points frequently rely on coincidence and fortunate timing — but the length of time one spends in Copperfield's world makes both the characters and the plot lively and memorable.

Overall, I'm glad I devoted the time to this story, and especially glad that I shelled out the money for this audio version.